Even as George Zimmerman stands trial for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, many Americans argue these laws make us safe. I've had pistols held to my head from Bosnia to Beirut. Your best self-defense is your tongue. Those who put their faith in guns will ultimately be outgunned.

Families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power – and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise ‘that all men are created equal.

My fascination with religious observances is ecumenical. I have recited my 'Allahu Akbars,' been blessed at Easter by the pope in St. Peter's Square, and recently attended a service in the South Pacific. Everywhere, I find a universal need for contemplation and self-surrender.

The majority of Americans consider Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as 'outstanding' or 'above average' among the modern presidents. Pollsters and historians need an edict: Wait 50 years before judging the greatness of presidents and their legacies.

It's difficult to make sense of Pakistan's pulsating political chaos, corruption, and instability. Yet pessimistic views of Pakistan, while endemic in the West, differ considerably from the perspective of Pakistani analysts who cautiously point to half a dozen hopeful developments.

The scripted and unscripted confrontations between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev were of such epic consequence they could not be condensed into film. Yet we do Britain’s first female prime minister a great disservice in omitting them.

Romney was a one-term governor, but he is surely the 24-carat chief executive officer. There are huge differences in skills required to be a successful CEO and a president of the United States. Presidents, for example, have to make life-and-death decisions that go beyond spreadsheets.

It sounds like war drums. Tehran says it will execute an alleged US spy and threatens to block the Strait of Hormuz. GOP presidential candidates talk of regime change and military strikes, and Obama is not cowed by Iran. But wars do not often turn out as envisioned.